Do It Yourself (DIY) Logo Design
August 11, 2007
Having a professional design and a logo that represents your company or brand has become very important these days. Since your logo is your cornerstone to branding, and because all sales materials feature a logo, a powerful and a unique logo is very important. If you are seeking professional help in this area, then you need someone whose products and services help build your company’s brand value by providing a strong and a unified image.
LogoYes is a leading provider of do it yourself logo design and also provides services such as premium design products to small businesses and startups for people like you. They are very unique in their approach to logo design and also hold a patent pending on their logo creation process.
Above all, once you start using this site, you will see that their website was designed with a customer(you) in mind and the layout and the site’s superior quality of symbols has really helped.
LogoYes.com evolved from the full-service advertising agency Logic Design, whose Fortune 100 clients included Mitsubishi, Caterpillar, and Hewlett-Packard. Both Logic Design and LogoYes.com were founded by the designer-writer team of John and Elizabeth Williams.
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How Thoof.com got its unique name!
August 10, 2007
In our previous coverage of Thoof, we talked about how social sites with user contribution is the current trend on the internet. Thoof promises to be something new and different where the focus is on personalized news.
Instead of showing stuff which the editors like, like TechCrunch or AskStudent or fully community based sites such as Digg or Reddit, Thoof readers will see something which the algorithm thinks you will like and these stories will show up in your own personalized unique Thoof homepage. Thoof also has a rating system which is called “ThoofRank”. What ThoofRank does is it measures how interesting and important a story is to other thoof readers who are interested in stories or news items with similar topics. An article or story ranked 50% by ThoofRank means that the article is recognized by other readers as above average. In order for members to get their posts rated, a ThoofRank badge code is attached on their post on their blog or website. According to its CEO,
“Thoof is designed to solve two key problems with today’s user generated news websites. The first is quality and accuracy of news stories, to address this we took a page out of Wikipedia’s book, if you see something wrong, you can fix it yourself by editing a story directly. The second is that everyone sees the same stuff, even though everyone obviously doesn’t have the same interests. To address this we developed a novel algorithm which learns what your interests are, and tailors stories to you tastes, right from the first moment you visit the website”.
Check out Thoof’s demo page to answer your questions
All very interesting and unique just like the name of the site … Thoof. If you go in the about us section at Thoof, you see that the CEO of Thoof is a … remember Ian Clarke who gave us The Freenet Project and Revver, ya him , but nothing about the story behind the unique name Thoof.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Thoof: Social News Startup & Personalized News Service
August 7, 2007
Social sites with user contribution is the current trend on the internet. Thoof promises to be something new and different where the focus is on personalized news.
Instead of showing stuff which the editors like, like TechCrunch which gave a positive review of Thoof or AskStudent or fully community based sites such as Digg or Reddit, Thoof readers will see something which the algorithm thinks you will like. While the news submissions are user based, what you will see on your page will be catered to your interests based on the kind of sites you submit or the kind of links you click on at Thoof. Thoof uses an algorithm to ‘learn’ what you like and don’t like which ultimately drives the type of content that appears on your personalized Thoof home page.
Thoof has recently come out of beta and while there are a few minors improvements that can be made, overall this seems to be a personalized news startup and definitely seems to have the potential to succeed where others have failed.
Unlike popular social sites such as Digg where a good story might end up being buried because of say lack of a proper title or description, Thoof readers can update the titles or description.
At Thoof, all the content such as interesting news articles, websites, photos, videos and any other links from all over the web are posted by Thoof readers. Thoof’s niche from other similar social networking news and content providers is that over time using their sophisticated algorithms discovers a reader’s interests and tailors the content of the site and presents personalized news and stories that cater to that particular user’s interests.
News is submitted by users in a Digg-like fashion. A link to a news item is submitted, along with a title, description and tags. Other users start to see the news item if Thoof determines they will like it. However, submissions can be easily be edited by other users who think there is something lacking. Any aspect of the news item can be changed, including the link, in a wiki-like fashion (see screen shot above and to left). Other users will see the change and be asked to vote on it. If enough users say yes, the changes stand. Otherwise, it reverts back to the previous submission.
There is no big signup process where all you need to submit is a valid email id and a password and you are all set. You can even set a custom user name. Once you submit a story, you get a badge which shows the current popularity of the story you just submitted. With Thoof, every story submitted gets a fair and reasonable chance to prove itself. It is much more difficult to game the system, and thus Thoof gives stories more of a chance to compete on their real value. This is good for the reader, because they see true high-quality stories, and is fairer to story submitters as well.
Some improvements I can see in Thoof is that
a. Allow for further categorization besides tags like some basic broad cateogies like Technology, Politics, Pictures, Videos etc.
b. Allow for users to bury a story. This is useful if there is spam or a duplicate story pops up.
c. Allow users to save history of not just the sites they submitted but also the sites they clicked on as a bookmark similar to Digg.
d. Allow for multiple tag addition by separating tags with commas instead of clicking on the plus sign for each tag
Overall, Thoof is a bit rough on the edges but definitely promises to deliver where others have failed.
Discover interesting news and articles using Thoof
August 2, 2007
We currently live in the world of web 2.0 where content is the king when it comes to interesting sites. Sites like Digg, Reddit and even AskStudent have user contributed content. The latest entrant to the world of social networking sites is Thoof.
At Thoof, all the content such as interesting news articles, websites, photos, videos and any other links from all over the web are posted by Thoof readers. Thoof’s niche from other similar social networking news and content providers is that over time using their sophisticated algorithms discovers a reader’s interests and tailors the content of the site and presents personalized news and stories that cater to that particular user’s interests. Every Thoof reader will see a personalized page with stories he or she will find interesting. All that you, as a reader, have to do is simply read what you like, and Thoof takes care of the rest!
For people who have their own blogs or for loyal readers here at AskStudent, it is very easy to submit content at Thoof. There is no big signup process where all you need to submit is a valid email id and a password and you are all set. You can even set a custom user name. Once you submit a story, you get a badge which shows the current popularity of the story you just submitted. With Thoof, every story submitted gets a fair and reasonable chance to prove itself. It is much more difficult to game the system, and thus Thoof gives stories more of a chance to compete on their real value. This is good for the reader, because they see true high-quality stories, and is fairer to story submitters as well.
Sexy Lingerie for Women. Introducing the C-String
June 11, 2007
A G-string or a G-Thong or thong, a narrow piece of cloth or leather that covers the genitals and passes between the buttocks and which stays in place by a band around the hips, remains one of the most popular form of underwear/lingerie worn by women. So when I heard about the C-String, a much sexier version of G-String where according to the promotional blurb, it is “sexy, elegant and completely unique” by ears perked up and I definitely wanted to test drive the C-String.
So, I go ahead and order the C-string for myself, one in pink and one in black. So, let me describe the C-String for you. When I first see it, I think its some uneven shaped wired headband … well, I guess thats where it gets its name - C shape.
It is a further evolution of the G-string. It is as narrow as a traditional G-string but without the band around the waist. It is just a “c shaped” piece between the legs and is firmly held in place by a flexible internal frame both securely and comfortably. Your modesty remains safely covered at all times. . Since there is no material around the waist, the c-string lingerie completely eliminates panty lines which underwear and even G-string thongs create.
Still thinking by seeing the pictures as to how the C-string holds up? Think of the front part as a thong style pair of knickers and again held up by a little bit of wire at the back. A headband which you wear on the bottom!
At first, when I was using it around campus, with a skirt on, I was always afraid that it would just drop. Imagine me walking around a crowded campus, and a piece of cloth just falls down my skirt! What excuses do I give to people staring at me picking up a headband. Well, thankfully it didn’t and it did stay put. It even survived a Friday night blast at a club ! However, it really grips you and sometimes it can get a bit uncomfortable moving around.
I don’t think I am ready to use it at a beach yet. When I try it out with an evening dress, I was very impressed. Women , more than men can spot even the smallest of thongs, but with the C-sting, you don’t see anything and that perfect black dress .. well finally looks perfect hugging my behind. I would suggest that you use it with outfits that might show a panty line or even with swimwear so you don’t see those ugly tan lines across your bottom.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Remote Data Backup Solution using IDrive E-Online Backup
June 10, 2007
Ever lost your important files because you accidentally deleted an important windows system file? How about that project report you have been working on for the last month and you lost it because your computer decided to crash? This is not a remote possibility anymore. Operating systems such as Windows are more complicated than ever and one wrong file or a driver might crash your Operating System. While recovery options do exist, it is a major pain in the hind parts to recover them. In such a scenario, you might want to think about an online backup solution.
You can also use backups such as burn data to a disc or a flash drive or use an external storage drive. But these solutions cost money and plus what happens if you lose your flash drive? How about a solution where you don’t have to pay a whole lot and you get reliable security and backup. Plus, you can retrieve your data from any computer on the planet with an internet connection. Sounds good right! Welcome to the world of online backup.
I have used many online backup options before usually jumping ship from one solution to another because someone else offered me more free storage space or someone was giving me better security or someone was giving me a good interface and usability. I finally settled on IDrive Online Backup
which is hands down the best remote data backup solution for Windows.
The IDrive E Online Backup offers 2GB of data backups for free. You can even automate the backup process and is entirely hands free. There is also no limit on the upload or download size for backup and restore. Say you have been working on a project tonight and IDrive has a backup from yesterday stored on its servers, you can automate the backups in such a way that transfer only portions of file that have been modified or changed since the last backup.
The user interface is very easy to use like Windows Explorer on your computer where you can simply drag and drop files. You also get reliable security with a 256 bit AES encryption on storage. IDrive also retains 30 versions of backed up data and you can restore any version from these 30 versions.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Meade mySky, your personal Video Planetarium
June 10, 2007
Meade launched a revolutionary way to explore our universe with their product meade my sky, an easy to use multi media device that lets you explore our universe and the stars like your own personal astronomer. Meade MySky is a hand held point-shoot and identify guide.
To use this cool astronomy gadget, you would point it at a celestial object and pull the trigger. mySky identifies stars, planets, galaxies and other 30,000 celestial objects with a background voice providing audio descriptions of the celestial objects you found or are pointing at. Using GPS and other technologies, it identifies the object and gives you a full multimedia presentation, including audio, video, still photos and text on its full color LCD screen.
It features a full color LCD screen and you can start off with a simple video guide on how you can use MySky. You can also configure the device to take you on guided tours of any objects you wish to focus depending on your time, date and location.
This could be a great gift for both the young and old, the budding astronomer or a curious student besides the casual star gazer. The battery life is pretty good with over 7 hours of battery life. Meade also gives you free UPS on all orders over $29.99. You can also download additional tours and programs from Meade’s website to further enhance your astronomical experience. The mySky also comes with a high fidelity audio earbuds and also a 256MB SD storage card.
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